Ireland CRO Company Register Guide (2025 Update)
Ireland’s Companies Registration Office (CRO), which maintains Ireland’s official business register, has CRO has all the hallmarks of a world-leading business register.
Its CORE platform is easy to use and available to the public. The bulk data sets, though expensive, are a treasure trove of information, and the weekly lists of newly incorporated or wound-up companies are critical for analysts.
That’s not even to mention Ireland’s UBO Register, which, though limited to the public, offers analysts unrestricted access to the Ultimate Beneficial Owners of companies registered in Ireland.
Of course, there are problems. For example, even when a document is proven to be incorrect, it remains unchecked in the database until a High Court order states otherwise. This poses huge challenges for analysts.
Moreover, the API only delivers basic information and details on directors in machine-readable text format, which is why regulated institutions should use third-party API solutions such as Kyckr to provide live shareholder data on Irish companies.
In this guide, we’ll look at the information held by CRO, how to navigate the CORE platform, its reliability, and upcoming reforms.
What is Ireland’s Company Register?
Ireland has two primary company registers: the Companies Registration Office (CRO) and the Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO).
The Companies Registration Office (CRO)
The CRO functions as Ireland's central repository of public statutory information for a range of legal entities, including companies, business names, and limited partnerships. Its role includes:
The authoritative source for verifying a company's current status, director details, and share capital.
Registers and dissolves companies in Ireland
Enforces filing obligations and receives post-incorporation documents.
The Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO)
The RBO is a separate register which identifies the natural persons who ultimately own or control an entity.
Filing Requirements: Newly incorporated companies and societies must file their beneficial ownership information within 5 months of incorporation, provide a Personal Public Service (PPS) number or submit a VIF form – a Declaration as to Verification of Identity, which must be sworn before a notary, signed, and uploaded to the online portal.
Changes: Once a company becomes aware of changes to beneficial ownership information, they have 14 days to file those changes. Failure to comply is a criminal offence.
Access: Only ‘designated persons’, such as banks, insurance companies and auditors, can access the RBO and purchase exclusive documents.
Information: Name, date of birth, nature or extent of interest, and residential address.
Remember: The FATF recommends using multiple sources of official information to identify the beneficial owner of a legal entity. Cross-reference RBO data with underlying shareholder data via third parties for enhanced due diligence.
How to Search for a Company on CORE
The CRO offers an online database, CORE, where you’ll find company information.
1. Register an Accounnt
First, register an account. You can do this by accessing the CORE platform.
2. Search the Database
Click ‘Search’. This is the way to initiate the database search.
3. Enter Company Details
Enter company details. E.g., a company name (which could be distinct from its business name, aka, its operating name).
4. View the Results
View the results. You’ll see basic company information:
Registration date
Company type
Status
Registered name
Address.
5. Download Documents
Download documents. These will provide a deeper insight into a company.
What Documents Are Available?
The Company Printout
This is a snapshot of a company at any moment, containing the following:
Company name.
Previous name.
Registered office.
Type.
Incorporation details.
Annual Return details.
Charges secured.
Director names.
Secretary names.
List of submissions.
APIs, Open Data, and the Gazette
Available APIs
The CRO offers API integration with their Company Search API:
Supports XML and JSON formats.
Provides access to basic company information, but not shareholder data, unlike the Kyckr API.
Returns various HTTP status codes that indicate a request’s success or failure.
Open data
The CRO supplies daily updated bulk data for high-volume users that includes basic company information, including:
Company Information: Name, number, status, address, type, activity, and capital
Director Details: name, address, appointment dates
Charge details
Document submission details
Liquidator / Examiner / Receiver appointment details.
Conditions apply. You must sign a formal License Agreement before receiving access, and as you’ll see, there are some (rather heavy) fees for the supply and use of the data.
What is the CRO Gazette?
Every Wednesday, the CRO publishes free gazettes containing important company information. They’re available online, but printed copies can be purchased. These include:
New companies.
Changes of name.
Annual returns received and registered.
Liquidations.
External companies.
Strike-offs.
Restorations.
Mergers.
And other registered documents.
Is CRO Data Reliable?
The CRO is the world’s authoritative source for information on Irish companies, containing the most up-to-date company filings and data available. Bear in mind a few things:
Self-Reporting: The CRO and RBO rely on companies to report truthfully about themselves and has “no general power to amend the CRO register”.
Judicial Process: It requires a High Court order to remove an incorrect filing, which may not be granted.
Geographically Limited: The CRO and RBO only provide information on companies registered in Ireland, and therefore have limited capacity to verify high-risk cross-border entities.
Red Flags to Look For
Senior Managing Officials Listed as Beneficial Owners
Under Irish law, if a company is unable to identify a natural person who meets the 25% ownership threshold, the names of the SMOs (e.g., directors, CEO) must be entered as the UBOs.
While this technically fulfils a reporting requirement, the presence of SMOs means that a search for a natural beneficial owner has failed. This should be treated as a major red flag, triggering a more intensive Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) process.
Non-compliance With Filing Obligations
The CRO maintains records on a company's standing, including notices of winding up, receivership, or pending strike-off. Of particular importance are the new grounds for involuntary strike-off introduced by the Companies Act 2024, which explicitly include a failure to file RBO details.
Checking for such notices of non-compliance should be a primary due diligence step, as it indicates a serious breach of statutory duties and poses an existential risk to the company itself.
High Director Turnover
High turnover rates among a company's directors or external auditors can be a sign of operational instability or attempts to evade scrutiny.
While not always a red flag, an individual with multiple directorships should also be subject to scrutiny to determine if they are a legitimate businessperson or a nominee director whose purpose is to obfuscate ownership.
Professional Enablers
The concept of a "professional enabler" – a company formation agent, lawyer or accountant acting on behalf of organised crime groups – is a recognised risk in Ireland.
Reforms (2024-2027)
The Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Act 2024 was passed into law on December 3, 2024, introducing major reforms to the Companies Act 2014.
Virtual and Hybrid Meetings: Companies can hold general meetings either virtually or in a hybrid format, with the Chairperson controlling attendance verification and meeting procedures remotely.
Flexibility in Document Execution: The Act allows for counterpart signatures on documents under seal, ending the time-consuming requirement that mandated two wet-ink signatures beside a company seal.
Merger Processes: The Act enables more efficient mergers by allowing designated activity companies (DACs) to merge using a summary approval process, previously limited to private companies limited by shares. It also facilitates concurrent mergers of multiple wholly owned subsidiaries, streamlining what previously required multiple transactions.
Increased Compliance Measures: The Act introduces additional grounds for involuntary company strike-off, including failure to maintain a Register of Beneficial Ownership, and offences for obstructing CEA investigations. With an estimated 10-12% of companies still non-compliant with their RBO obligations, thousands of entities are potentially at risk of being struck off the register.
Audit Exemption Removal: The Act removes the automatic loss of audit exemption for small and micro companies on the first occasion of a late filing, provided there has not been another failure in the preceding five years. This came into effect on 16 July 2025.
How to Access Structured Shareholder Data in Ireland
The CRO has a significant limitation: its API doesn’t provide shareholder data. Information on shareholders must be manually parsed via company documents filed with the CRO.
This adds another layer of unnecessary complexity for KYB teams, who must ensure that due diligence doesn’t risk potential customers dropping off during onboarding.
Kyckr, the global business registry, offers an API that returns shareholder data from the CRO and 299 other official corporate registries in real time. Our solution extracts shareholder data automatically and delivers it in a structured, machine-readable format.
Book a demo to find out more.
